Chłopki / Peasant Women by Joanna Kuciel-Frydryszak has already seen over a dozen reprints and sold more than five hundred thousand copies – an unprecedented publishing success that proves how vital it is today to tell history from the perspective of the underprivileged. The book’s success has not gone unnoticed by theatre-makers. In Olsztyn, the book was adapted for stage by a group of graduates from the Aleksander Sewruk Acting School with Tomasz Cymerman, whose earlier productions had proved his adapting skill as both director and dramaturg. Their Chłopki / Peasant Womenbecame a narrative on the hardship women in the country endured living in a patriarchal society, but also on the dignity of that existence and the emancipatory power of telling its tale. The artistic crew reached for the convention of horror to emphasise the darkness vested in these stories and give them a surprising aesthetic form. A significant role in the production is played by the music crafted by Dominik Strycharski, one of Poland’s most inventive theatre composers. For this performance, he arranged traditional folk songs and ditties, which the young actors performed on stage themselves. The production stands as proof that the diploma performances presented at the Boska Komedia / Divine Comedy Festival in the Paradiso section serve more than just presentation of the recent graduates’ talent but also tackle major contemporary issues and make meaningful contributions to debates running on Poland’s leading dramatic stages.

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A diploma production of the Aleksander Sewruk Post-Secondary Acting School at the Stefan Jaracz Theatre in Olsztyn, based on the book of the same title by Joanna Kuciel-Frydryszak. 

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Photo by Łukasz Pepol